God speaks to people through creation.

Have you heard of the Singing Revolution event in 1987 to 1991? Estonia is one of the Baltic countries. Every day, Estonians gathered to raise their illegal flag, sing their national song, and peacefully protest Russia’s violent occupation. Five years later, the massive, joy-filled experience of a million people gathering regularly to sing was unimaginable and eventually Russia left.

An American political scientist, Erica Chenoweth is known for researching non-violent civil resistance movements. She has found that just 3.5% of the population needs to be enthusiastically engaged for a movement to spread and be successful and that non-violent campaigns are twice as likely to achieve their goals. The movement in Estonia started with a small group of committed people singing peacefully and energetically, but as more and more people gathered, the movement grew and grew.

Moses’ Story

Let’s talk about the exciting story of Moses- he’s born and hidden in the basket as a baby, the endangered Hebrew boy who was found and saved by an Egyptian princess. Though he was raised in a palace, like an Egyptian prince, as he grew to an adult, he knew himself to be an alien among the Egyptians: he was not one of them; ethnically, he was a Hebrew. One day, Moses beat and killed an Egyptian slave master who was beating a Hebrew slave. He was forced to leave Egypt and go on the run. Moses was a murderer, refugee, and foreigner with a colourful past but no clear future direction. We could describe him as one of life’s failures at this point in his life, reduced to tending his father-in-law’s flock. But here we have this one failed person’s direct encounter with God.

When we follow the Spirit, everything falls into place.

Have you ever recognised God’s presence through a plant or tree? Moses had stopped to look that the bush was on fire, but didn’t burn up. Moses encountered God at the Burning Bush, and God told Moses he was standing on holy ground and to take off his shoes. Why did God tell Moses to take off his shoes? And what on earth is holy ground?

Let’s turn our attention to Jacob’s story in Genesis. He fled from the sight of his father and older brother. On the way to Haran, he fell asleep at night a place called Luz, and he saw God in a dream, and he was amazed to realise that it was the gate of Heaven, God’s house, which is Bethel. Thus, the stone pillow Jacob had used became a pillar of the house of God and the gate of Heaven.

In this way, a small and insignificant tree was transformed into a place of God’s presence. The place was just an ordinary place where Moses always went, and the shrub was nothing special, but it became the “place” where God called Moses. So the tree became, in Jacob’s terms, the “house of God” and the “gate of heaven”. This is what happens when God is present and when we encounter God. The ordinary places where we live are places of God’s call. We can be the place where God dwells. In other words, a seemingly ordinary place can be a holy place where God calls us to action in service and commit to fulfilling His will. Here and now, as we sit together in worship God, this is a holy ground.

So, in your daily life, look around you, find the ‘bush’, and approach God’s holy ground with awe and listen. Is God calling you to serve Him, to carry out a task in His name? Remember, the God who calls will provide. Your age is no excuse. Believe it or not, Moses was 80 at the time. God will be provided with the skills.

God was watching us from a distance.

And God challenges Moses to be the divine agent: “Moses, I’ve seen my people and how miserable they are down in Egypt. I’ve heard their cry at the hands of their taskmasters. I know how much they are suffering, and I’ve decided it’s time to do something about it. I want to get them out of Egypt and bring them into a much better land that I promised their ancestors. So here’s the deal, I’m going to send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”

God was watching when the new Pharaoh arose in the land and enacted policies that resulted in the Israelites suffering under harsh taskmasters. When Pharaoh sanctioned the deliberate killing of Israelite boys, God was watching. God observed the misery of the Israelite people and took action. In this grand project, God had specially chosen Moses. As we all know, Moses was a stutterer, so God appointed his older brother Aaron as his co-leader. With God’s help, his brother’s help, and the help of invisible supporters, Moses publicly and peacefully protests the slavery of his people and leads them to freedom.

We are Standing on the Holy Ground

Moses’ first response to God’s call was, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” Moses’ deep inner questions allowed him to stand on the holy ground of his calling without being swayed by God’s plan. Dear friends, the question ‘Who am I?’ refers to the encounter of a personal relationship between “I” and “God”. So, the prophet Isaiah also confesses, ‘O LORD, you are my God’. We ask ourselves these questions as we listen to God’s story today. If national liberation was a calling for Moses, what is a calling for ‘I’ and ‘We’ who keep the Season of Creation?

If just 3.5% of the population were passionate about climate action, the necessary changes would become not only possible but inevitable. All it takes is for committed people to show up, share ideas, and let the energy flow. And a date has been set for a referendum on the ‘Voice’ of indigenous peoples. Just as God called Moses after watching the hardships of the Israelites, God listens to and watches the voices of the indigenous people. What is God’s care for them? We are followers of Jesus, standing on God’s Holy ground.